Swaziland's justice minister has told the country's senate that the government is finalising a law that would make it illegal to criticise the King Mswati III on social media networks. "We will be tough on those who write bad things about the king...
CATEGORY: Africa
The Kony debacle: South speaks to North
Suddenly, bad African leaders are under the torch of public scrutiny: George Clooney is arrested while trying to draw attention to Sudan’s president Bashir. Former Kenyan ministers Uhuru Kenyatta and Willam Ruto are on trial at the International...
Zimbabwe: Activists fined for showing Egypt uprising video
A Zimbabwe court on Monday fined six activists 500 USD (315 GBP) each and ordered them to carry out 420 hours of community service for conspiring to commit public violence during a meeting at which they watched video footage of Egyptian mass...
Mali: Soldiers storm broadcasters in coup
Soldiers in Mali stormed the state TV and radio station in central Bamako yesterday, announcing they had seized control of the country hours after attacking the presidential palace. In a video clip circulating online, spokesman for the National...
DRC: Television station attacked, programme host in hiding
A private television station in the Democratic Republic of Congo was stormed by unidentified men yesterday morning. Radio Télévision Kindu Maniema (RTKM) who broadcast from the capital of Maniema province was attacked by a group of men, who set...

Mauritius TV a “tool of the government”
The president of Mauritius has said the island’s TV channels are unfair and partial. Mike Dodd reports
Ghana: Political activist detained over allegations against first lady
A political activist and critic of the President's administration has been detained in Ghana. Ernest Owusu Bempah was arrested on 14 March on charges of “publishing false information with the intent to cause fear and alarm”. On a local radio...
Liberia: Reporting on genital mutilation draws threats
A female journalist has been threatened with genital mutilation after exposing the practice in Liberia. Mae Azango, a reporter for the daily newspaper FrontPage Africa and news website New Narratives was forced into hiding after receiving...

Standing in the queue
To celebrate Index’s 40th birthday, our archive is open to the public for 40 days from 26 March. It’s a unique literary heritage, a roll-call of the greatest authors in the 20th century canon standing up for free expression.
In 1994, South African writer, activist and Nobel Prize winner Nadine Gordimer witnessed the end of apartheid in South Africa

Art For Peace heals Kenya’s wounds
“Slum is a tricky word. It conjures up images out of control. The threatening. The miserable. The lawless,” thus wrote Richard Swift in his article "Welcome to Squatter Town" for The New Internationalist. This publicity raised awareness of the...
Freedom of expression in Africa. Index on Censorship covers free speech, freedom of religion, artistic freedom on the continent of Africa.